Question 1

Why do красиво and плохо end in -о?

Accepted Answer

These are adverbs, which describe how an action is done. In Russian, adverbs of manner are usually made by taking an adjective and changing its ending to -о. So, the adjective for beautiful is красивый, but the adverb beautifully is красиво.

Question 2

Why is there a dash after папа?

Accepted Answer

The dash replaces the verb играет (plays) so we do not have to repeat it. It acts like a shortcut, basically saying 'My mom plays beautifully, and dad poorly'. Dropping the repeated verb like this is very common in Russian.

Question 3

Why use а for 'but' here, instead of но?

Accepted Answer

The word а is a comparing word used to show a simple contrast between two different things or situations. We use но for a stronger contradiction, like wanting to do something but being unable to. Since we are just contrasting how mom plays with how dad plays, а is the perfect fit.

Question 4

I thought words ending in -а were feminine. Why does the masculine word папа end in -а?

Accepted Answer

Папа is a special exception. Words for male family members like папа (dad) and дедушка (grandpa) end in -а but are still treated as completely masculine words. Notice that earlier in the sentence, mom gets the feminine word моя (my), but if we said 'my dad', it would be the masculine мой папа.

Моя мама играет красиво, а папа — плохо.

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